Results tagged ‘ Bob Uecker ’

It’s finally official: Bob Uecker is about to add another hall of fame to his bio.

World Wrestling Entertainment officially announced that Uecker will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday during a ceremony at the Dodge Theater in downtown Phoenix. The ceremony will air on USA Network at 10 p.m. CT that night.

Uecker participated in two WrestleManias. In 1987, he appeared as a ringside announcer at WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit. The next year, Uecker was the backstage interviewer at WrestleMania IV at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City.

“Bob Uecker cemented his place in WWE history with his appearances at WrestleMania III and IV,” WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said in a press release. “Seeing the huge hands of WWE Hall of Famer Andre the Giant around Uecker’s neck is a clip that became immortalized in pop culture history.”

Uecker will be introduced on Saturday by Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. A group of Brewers staffers led by media relations director and wrestling fanatic Mike Vassallo will attend Saturday’s ceremony.

The Brewers today finalized their 2010 Spring Training broadcast schedule on Friday and announced that all 30 spring game dates will include a broadcast on at least one of three platforms: Webcast via Brewers.com, radio via WTMJ-AM and television via FOX Sports Wisconsin.

A total of 16 games will be broadcast on Newsradio 620 WTMJ with Hall of Fame announcer Bob Uecker and Cory Provus calling the action on the Brewers Radio Network. The TV schedule includes Monday, March 8 vs. Seattle; Monday, March 15 vs. Cleveland and Saturday, March 27 vs. Texas. Brewers television play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson and Brewers television analyst Bill Schroeder will team up for their fourth year in the broadcast booth in 2010.

Twelve other games will be webcast on Brewers.com. Anderson will once again handle the bulk of that duty.

For those fans considering a trip to Cleveland next week for just the second Brewers-Indians series since 2001, here’s an added incentive: Harry Doyle will be in the house.

Brewers radio voice Bob Uecker, who conjured a boozier version of himself as Doyle in the 1989 film, “Major League,” will throw the ceremonial first pitch before the series opener on Monday night.

“I’ve already shot the promos for it, we’re doing the whole nine yards,” Uecker said before today’s game against the White Sox.

Monday is “Major League” night at Progressive Field, and all fans in attendance will get a bobblehead of fictional Indians closer Rick Vaughn, played by Charlie Sheen in the movie.

Uecker/Doyle had a bunch of great lines in the first installment of the “Major League” trilogy, but I think my favorite was the simple, “Taylor bunts!!!” Damian Miller used to do a killer impression of the line that was part Uecker, part Harry Caray, and got laughs every time.

Braun rudely bumped my story about Brett Lawrie’s switch to second base from the top slot on Brewers.com down to No. 2. That move has been pretty well panned by actual and armchair scouts alike, but Reid Nichols is genuinely pleased with how it’s been going. One thing is sure — that kid, even with one of the weirdest batting stances I’ve ever seen, can really hit.

Speaking of weird batting stances, or at least formerly weird, Craig Counsell is forcing himself into the starting lineup against right-handers. The Brewers face a bunch of righties coming up, so it will be interesting to see just how manager Ken Macha splits time between Counsell and Bill Hall.

Tuesday afternoon, the Brewers are holding a press conference to induct Bob Uecker into the Braves Wall of Honor at Miller Park. I believe that’s on the field-level concourse at Miller Park, so check it out if you go to any of the games against the Marlins this week. I’m going to go out on a limb and say Uecker will have some great one-liners in his question and answer session. My favorite is that he signed with the Braves in 1956 for $3,000, which was a lot of money at the time, but his dad found a way to scrape it up.

Merle Harmon, the original radio voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, died Wednesday in Arlington, Tex. He was 82.

Harmon was also the final voice of the Milwaukee Braves before that team moved to Atlanta in 1966. He called Brewers games beginning in 1970, when the franchise shifted from Seattle to Milwaukee, through 1979, and was the Texas Rangers play-by-play man from 1982-89. Harmon also worked for both ABC and NBC during a broadcasting career that spanned 45 years.

Bob Uecker, who joined Harmon in the Brewers’ booth in 1971 and is still calling games today, issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon.

“Merle was a great friend and a wonderful partner in the booth, and the memories he leaves us with will be cherished forever,” Uecker said. “His dedication to family and broadcasting were second to none, and I will always be grateful for the latitude and direction he gave to me as I was entering the profession.

“My heart goes out to his family, and I speak for everyone at the Brewers in saying that this is a very sad day for all of us.”

ADDED that photo, courtesy of John Steinmiller, Ken Spindler and the Brewers. I recognize Harmon, of course, with the microphone, and that’s Uecker at far right, Robin Yount front right lying next to George Scott with Hank Aaron over Yount’s shoulder. Don Money is in the back row, third from the left. I assume that’s manager Del Crandall with the jacket on. Is that Jerry Augustine next to Uecker?

The Brewers’ flagship radio station hired Cory Provus of WGN in Chicago to fill the vacancy in Milwaukee’s radio booth on the same day the Brewers unveiled their Spring Training and regular-season broadcast schedules.

Provus, a 2000 graduate of Syracuse University, appeared on AM 620-WTMJ in Milwaukee on Monday morning and will call his first game alongside Bob Uecker on Feb. 25, when the Brewers host the A’s at Maryvale Baseball Park. He handled Cubs pre- and post-game programming for WGN and often spelled play-by-play man Pat Hughes in the fifth inning of game broadcasts.

He replaces Jim Powell, who left in January for a higher-profile job with the Atlanta Braves after 13 seasons in the booth with Uecker.

The Feb. 25 game is one of 36 Brewers Spring Training games and all will be broadcast either on the Brewers Radio Network, MLB.com, FSN Wisconsin or Milwaukee’s WMLW TV. A total of three games will be broadcast on television, 19 on radio and 16 via MLB.com webcast.

During the regular season, Uecker and Provus will call all 162 games on the radio as usual, and a total of 157 games will be televised, with Brian Anderson (who has an excellent MLBlog, by the way) and Bill Schroeder back in the booth. That includes 136 games on FSN Wisconsin, 15 games aired locally in Milwaukee on WMLW and four national broadcasts.

On his blog, Anderson wrote that Telly Hughes will replace departed sideline reporter Trenni Kusnierek on TV broadcasts.

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